World’s Whackiest Hotels | Umi Digital

23 November 2018, 9:56 UTC

By: Luke Bishop

Did you know that in today’s modern era, there are roughly over 187,000 different hotels operating around the world, with a total of 17.5 million different hotels rooms for guests to choose from, all offering there own and unique setup for guests to enjoy.

I myself have been fortunate enough to visit a wide variety of different hotels around the world, from staying inside a Dubai hotel for 6 months to living in Central London Hotel for 3 years, I’ve seen it all! One constant that can be carried over from my travels would be the type of hotel I often found myself staying in from the Middle East, right down to Plymouth on Sea.

However, times are now changing and the days of generic hotel rooms are becoming more and more unpopular, allowing us to write such a blog like this! This evolution of our hotel rooms have only just begun, with the majority of hotels mentioned on the list below having only been opened over the past 10 years.

What caused such a change?

The main reason for this change partly stems from the overall competition in the hospitality segment causing hotels to think up and in some cases dream up the whackiest hotel concepts to help attract new guests from the around the world.

This flair can be seen when you visit any major hotel’s website. Most will ensure you are greeted by their own “USP” (unique selling point) to grab your attention. Some are weirder and more wonderful than others, from prestige gardens perfect for Afternoon Tea, to hotels combined with world-famous water parks (no shade to waterparks, I just don’t like them).

This personalisation is something that is still relatively new in the hospitality industry. If you were to take a trip back to the 1930s, a hotel was a hotel and provided one single purpose, which (you guessed it) was to give visitors a room to stay in whilst travelling away from home.

However, in today’s modern era, most hotels treat the room as one of the guest’s lowest priories during his/her stay, instead stating that a hotel room is simply somewhere the guest would sleep and not particularly care about. According to multiple hotels, guests place the hotel’s facilities and most importantly its (Social Media potential) that users can place on Instagram to boast to friends and family.

This change is partly down to our own making, specifically to overall increases in levels of competition in the hospitality industry. This has forced hotels to try and stand out with whacky and wonderful concepts. We as humans have unfortunately become more receptive to crazy and outlandish ideas and now demand that hotels offer up new and innovative ideas. Although another big part, as touched upon above has been the introduction of social media.

Perhaps take a moment to ask yourself which hotels you have stayed at over the past five years just down to their facilities, quirky design, or social media value. Quite often I find a majority of people are surprised at there own answer.

For example, in Singapore, the “Loren” hotel was designed specifically to attract attention. The hotel’s unique and uncommon look make it more of a tourist attraction than a high-luxury hotel. However, this bold move seems to have paid off as the hotel remains one of the most popular in the world, as evidenced by their high levels of social media activity.

The Internet, however, should be taking the brunt of the blame, as it has in other tech-focused markets. As we have seen, the wackier and more vibrant the hotel, the more attention it usually drags in on the Internet and social media, where the constant need for cool and unseen content carries a large sway in the reasoning behind big brands branching out with new and wacky ideas.

This shift is the direct result of us as customers requesting more from our hotels, demanding they stand out from the norm, with a clear fixation that bigger is in fact better. In this blog, we are here to celebrate the weirdest and wackiest hotels in the world.

Take a look at the weirdest hotels below:

1. Hobbit Motel, New Zealand

This weird & whacky hotel is based on the world famous “Lord of the Rings” movie franchise and allows guests to stay in replica Hobbit homes adapted for regular human life, with raised door frames and ceilings. This wacky hotel is located in a place called Woodlyn Park, located in the heart of New Zealand.

2. Magic Mountain, Chile

The Magic Mountain, surrounded by a pristine biological reserve, has been referred to by many as the real-life fairytale village, straight from an imaginary land far, far away. The only way in and out is over a quirky wooden drawbridge, adding to the hotel’s drama and theatrics.

3. Dog Bark Park Inn

As a dog lover myself I often find myself affectionately looking down at my dog throughout the day, as many dog lovers throughout the world. However, one couple in Cottonwood, Idaho have decided to take their devotion one step further and have constructed a whole hotel to the appearance of a beagle dog. The hotel attracts tourists from around the globe with thousands of people wishing to stay every single year. The hotel sleeps paw (sorry four) and offers guests the chance to enjoy the beautiful rural atmosphere surrounding the 14M beagle without the distractions of a television or wifi.

4. Golden Crown Levin Iglut, Levi, Finland

Out of the entire list, I have to admit that the following hotel has defiantly been catapulted to the top of my own bucket list. The golden crown in Levi Finland offers guests the chance to marvel at the beauty and mystique of the northern lights from the comfort of there own private glass igloo, overlooking a beautiful frozen landscape. The igloos are fitted with a large double bed with full 360-degree views of the surrounding landscape! Let’s hope they have curtains!

5. Hotel Costa Verde, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica

If you are a plane enthusiast then the following hotel has to be on your radar! The Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica offers guests one of the most unique and quirky hotel experiences in the whole of the world. Enjoy a night in and upcycled 1965 Boeing 727, fitted with all of the latest and most refined luxuries you would find in any other hotel, apart from the obvious fact that you’re on a discontinued airliner. Guests will enjoy beautiful views of the surrounding jungle and the beautiful ocean.